Archive for January, 2012

Emmy nominee Tommy Hawkins and DVD producer Jim Benson will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org.

An Emmy Award-nominated broadcaster, Tommy Hawkins enjoyed a 10-year career in the NBA for both the Minneapolis Lakers, the Los Angeles Lakers and the old Cincinnati Royals, playing alongside such Hall of Famers as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson. When his basketball career ended, Tommy embarked on new challenges, first in radio and television (including co-hosting Mid-Morning Los Angeles with Stephanie Edwards and Meredith MacRae, as well as broadcasting for NBC Sports), then as a baseball executive for 18 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A renaissance man if ever there was one, Tommy has just published a new coffee table book, Life’s Reflections: Poetry for the People, that reflects his many interests, which include such subjects as sports, jazz, art, poetry, travel, life, love, family, and the turbulent decade known as the 1960s. Not only that, each of Tommy’s poems is accompanied by a captivating painting or photograph that illustrates his words, including works by legendary artists Leroy Neiman and Ernie Barnes. We’ll ask Tommy about his playing career, his passion for poetry, and how Regis Philbin played a role in one of his first breaks as a broadcaster, when he joins us in our first hour.

For our listeners in Southern California, Tommy Hawkins’ upcoming appearances include Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7pm at the Pepperdine University Library in Malibu, CA; Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7:30am at the Malibu Rotary Club; Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7pm at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City, CA Thursday, Feb. 16 at 10am at the Pasadena Senior Center in Pasadena, CA; Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 7pm at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, CA; Saturday, Mar. 3 at 2pm at the Eso-Won Bookstore in Los Angeles; Tuesday, Mar. 7 at 7pm at Chaucers Bookstore in Santa Barbara, CA; Tuesday, Mar. 14 at 1pm at the Culver City Senior Center in Culver City, CA; and Wednesday, Mar. 15 at 6pm at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Also joining us this week will be Jim Benson, host of TV Time Machine and the executive producer of I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster: Vol. 1, the first 16 episodes of the critically acclaimed yet short-lived comedy series created and produced by Leonard Stern. An homage to Laurel and Hardy, as well as the comedies of Preston Sturges, I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster starred John Astin and Marty Ingels as construction workers who were also the best of friends. And though Leonard Stern would achieve far greater success with Get Smart and the Mad Libs book series, he always had a special place in his heart for I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster… as have those who are discovering the show for the first time, now that it is back in circulation for the first time in fifty years.

We will talk about the lengths Jim took to bring back I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster, as well as look back at the legacy of Leonard Stern in general, when Jim Benson joins us in our second hour. We’ll also discuss one of the show’s most memorable episodes, “The Joke,” as well as the contributions of Astin, Ingels, their co-star Emmaline Henry, and director Arthur Hiller.

The Beach Boys, My Three Sons, and a Musical Mystery on the Next “Dave White Presents”!

While never an official Beach Boy himself, past Dino, Desi, and Billy member Billy Hinsche was part of their touring outfit as keyboardist, guitarist, and backing vocalist from the 1970s through the 1990s. Billy became part of the extended Wilson family when his sister Annie married Carl Wilson in February 1966. Currently, he’s Al Jardine’s musical director. Who could know the Beach Boys better?

On Tuesday, January 31, Billy Hinsche returns to online radio’s “Dave White Presents” to discuss his new DVD documentary, Carl Wilson—Then and Now. The film is an affectionate tribute to the late singer of hits like “Good Vibrations” and “God Only Knows.” Family members and fellow musicians remember Carl as the leader of the group when it was a touring unit and as a steadying force in a family struggling with rock and roll excesses. In his interview with Wes Britton, Billy shares what you can see and hear in his three-hour, two-disc film based on very exclusive and intimate insights into one of the greatest American bands of them all!

“I spent my entire life playing nerds.” So says Barry Livingston, most famous for playing Ernie Douglas on My Three Sons. In a lively conversation with Dave White, Barry talks about being a child star and how he joined a successful show starring his older brother Stanley who played his older brother Chip in the series. But his career didn’t end there—he played on Room 222, The Streets of San Francisco, Police Woman, and most recently in Zodiac, Two and a Half Men, and Mad Men.His films include You Don’t Mess with the Zohan and The Social Network. On DWP, he’ll share some great stories and tell you what’s in his 2011 memoir, The Importance of Being Ernie: From My Three Sons to Mad Men, a Hollywood Survivor Tells All!

In the mid-70s, songwriter Eric Beam was a member of a Pittsburgh band called Felix Harp. Despite the fact the group released three albums, you never heard them because their record company never intended to sell them. Why not? One of Eric’s songs, “Shoes,” was re-recorded by singer Reparata after she left the Delrons. But, while climbing the charts and becoming an international hit, Polydor Records pulled it off the shelves. Why? To deepen the mystery, only last year did Eric learn their were four versions of his song recorded and released by bands in England, Germany, France, and Greece. We’ll dig into what happened, play you the Reparata classic and, for the first time anywhere, play you a medley of Eric’s song in three languages.

All this comes your way Tuesday, January 31 at 7:30 Eastern, then 7:30 Pacific over—

www.KSAV.org

Something New: You can now record your favorite online shows to play at your convenience!It’s called DAR, or Digital Audio Recording, and details are at:

Actress and author Julie Adams, singer/actor Robert Davi and Emmy Award-winning editor Mitchell Danton will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio.

Many of us know Julie Adams for her starring role in one of the most famous horror movies of all time, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Yet Creature is just one chapter in Julie’s life and career, which spans not only the Golden Age of Hollywood and Golden Age of Television, but also saw her work with such legends as Jimmy Stewart, Rock Hudson, Andy Griffith, John Wayne, Milton Berle, Barbara Stanwyck, Angela Lansbury, Elvis Presley and Raymond Burr.

Julie has published a new book, The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon, that is filled with great stories and spectacular photographs that take you behind the scenes of not just Creature from the Black Lagoon, but many of the other stage, film and TV productions on which Julie has worked in the course of her career, including Bend of the River, Mississippi Gambler, Man from the Alamo, The Last Movie, Tickle Me, Perry Mason, The Andy Griffith Show, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery and Murder, She Wrote. Julie’s story is also a reminder of how, with hard work and preparation, it’s possible to achieve even the most faraway dream. We’ll meet Julie Adams when she joins us in the studio during our first hour.

Also joining us in our first hour will be Julie’s son Mitchell Danton. Mitch not only co-authored Julie’s book, he is an Emmy Award-winning film editor who has worked on such film and TV productions as Saving Grace, Christy, Beverly Hills 90210, Dawson’s Creek, In Plain Sight, Survivor and the ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11.

Julie Adams has several appearances coming up in the next few weeks, including the “Women in Horror” panel at the upcoming Horror Hound Weekend that will take place at the Crowne Plaza Columbus North in Columbus, Ohio on March 23, 24, and 25. She’s also scheduled to appear at the annual Monsterpalooza gathering at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center in Burbank, CA on April 13, 14 and 15. For more information on these on other appearances, go to www.JulieAdams.biz.

Also joining us this week will be Robert Davi, an actor known to many of us as Agent Malone in Profiler, Franz Sanchez in License to Kill, Jake Fratelli in The Goonies, and many, many other appearances in film and television, including Contract on Cherry Street with Frank Sinatra. What you may not know about Robert is that, in addition to being an accomplished actor, he is a classically trained singer with a deep-seeded love and appreciation for many of the greatest musical artists of all time, including his friend and mentor, Frank Sinatra.

Robert’s first album, Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance, pays tribute to not only Ole Blue Eyes, but also The Great American Songbook, which Robert considers to be “the Shakespeare of America.” We’ll ask Robert what he means by that, as well as talk about his friendship with Frank Sinatra, when he joins us in our second hour.

Actress Jacqueline Scott and Golden Globe Award-winning writer/producer Howard Gordon will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio.

Co-creator, executive producer and show runner of Homeland, the psychological thriller starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis that just won the Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Television of 2011, Howard Gordon is also the author of Hard Target, the sequel to his best-selling debut novel, Gideon’s War, that is every bit as fast-paced and riveting as an episode of 24. We’ll talk to Howard about Hard Target, Homeland, and the appeal of characters such as Jack Bauer and Gideon Davis, as well as get a sneak peek at his latest television series, Awake, which premieres Monday, Feb. 6 on NBC. All this and more when Howard Gordon joins us in our first hour.

For our listeners in Southern California, you can meet Howard Gordon at the Diesel Bookstore at the Brentwood Country Mart, 225 26th Street in Santa Monica on Wednesday, Jan. 25 beginning at 7pm. He’ll also be appearing at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Thousand Oaks, on Saturday, Jan. 28 beginning at 2pm, as well as at Mysterious Galaxy, 2810 Artesia Blvd. in Redondo Beach on Saturday, Feb. 4 beginning at 2:30pm. For more information on these and other appearances, go to HowardMGordon.com.

Joining us in our second hour will be Jacqueline Scott, an actress who has been a staple on television over the past five decades, including appearances in just about every major show from Gunsmoke to Cold Case, as well as the classic TV-movie Duel (directed by Steven Spielberg) and many of the great shows produced by Quinn Martin. We’ll talk to Jacquie about working with such film and TV legends as James Stewart, Walter Matthau, Cliff Robertson, Dennis Weaver and, of course, David Janssen, as well as appearing on Broadway with such stars as Paul Muni.

Of course, many of us think of Jacqueline Scott as Donna Kimble Taft, Richard Kimble’s sister on The Fugitive. But if all goes well, we may also see her in a Super Bowl commercial next month on NBC. The commercial is called Sling Baby, it’s directed by Kevin Willson, and it’s one of five finalists in a contest sponsored by Doritos; the two spots that get the most votes will be shown during this year’s Super Bowl broadcast. But for that to happen, we need to get out the vote. So if you’d like to see Jacqueline Scott and Sling Baby be part of the Super Bowl telecast, go to www.vote4slingbaby.com, watch the commercial, and cast your vote. There are five different ways in which you can vote, including through Facebook and your smart phone, and you can vote as often as five times a day, every day through Sunday, Jan. 29. Not only that, but Doritos will be awarding $10,000 to several voters, so the more you vote, the better your chances of winning. For more information, check out www.vote4slingbaby.com.

Rose Marie, Mitch Ryder, and Jules Verne on the next “Dave white Presents”!

Yes, for five years, Rose Marie was Sally Rogers on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW. But did you know the 88 year old singer/actress began her career in vaudeville as “Baby Rose Marie” back in 1926? Her extensive resume also includes co-starring on THE DORIS DAY SHOW and HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, not to mention guest appearances on everything from THE MONKEES to MURPHY BROWN!

On Tues. Jan. 17, Rose Marie joins Dave White in a lively conversation with more stories than we can tease you with here. How about her having the brass to demand an $11.00 refund from gangster Bugsy Siegel? But that’s not all . . .

“Devil With a Blue Dress On.” “Sock It To Me, Baby!” “C. C. Rider.” These were only a few of the hits from Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels during the 1960s. If that’s all you know about Mitch, then Wes Britton’s interview with the Detroit legend will tell you about Mitch’s 25 releases over the years, many only available in Europe.Did you know Jimi Hendrix wanted Mitch to join him in a new band? Did you know Mitch just published his candid memoir, DEVILS AND BLUE DRESSES: MY WILD RIDE AS A ROCK LEGEND? Or that he has a new album coming in Feb. called THE PROMISE produced by Don Was? We’ll play you two selections and share some inside stories about what Mitch will be doing in 2012. But that’s not all either . . .

In our last broadcast, Brian Taves of the North American Jules Verne Society talked about a paperback series of Verne’s books now being translated into English for the first time.What can you discover in these brand-new collections?Expect some surprises in part two of this revealing look back at a father of science fiction . . .

All this, along with the “predictably unpredictable” humor of DWP, comes Tues. Jan 17 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, then 7:30 Pacific over—

www.KSAV.org

On Wed. Jan. 18, the 90 minutes of variety entertainment will become available as a podcast, mp3 download, from itunes and through TEVO, or on the player at:

Authors Walter Koenig, Larry Brody and Peter Ford will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio.

Known worldwide to three generations of sci-fi fans for playing two iconic TV characters ― Alfred Bester on Babylon 5 and, of course, Pavel Chekhov on the original Star Trektelevision series and the first six Star Trek motion pictures ― Walter Koenig is also an accomplished writer, director and producer who continues to leave his mark in stage, film and publishing, including the four-part comic book series Raver and Things to Come, both of which will be released as graphic novels in 2012. We’ll ask Walter how he got involved in the comic book industry, as well as the short film he recently completed, and perhaps a question or two about Star Trek, when he joins us in our second hour.

Also joining us this week will be award-winning writer/producer Larry Brody, whose many credits in television include such shows as Police Story, Mike Hammer, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Barnaby Jones, Cannon and The Streets of San Francisco. Larry also runs TVWriter.com, an excellent resource for both new and experienced writers of television, while his books about the TV industry include Television Writing From The Inside OutandTurning Points in Television. In keeping with our Star Trek theme for this program, one of the mentors who helped Larry the most in his career was none other than Gene Roddenberry. We’ll talk about that, and more, when Larry Brody joins us in our first hour.

Plus: Part 2 of our conversation with actor and author Peter Ford. Peter’s book, Glenn Ford: A Life, provides a very nuanced look at both the private and professional lives of Glenn Ford, one of America’s greatest motion picture actors. We’ll talk about Glenn’s early years as a contract player with Columbia Pictures, his troubled marriage to fellow screen legend Eleanor Powell, some of his noted love affairs, and a whole lot more.

Peter Ford is also the subject of A Little Prince, a forthcoming documentary by Alexander Roman about Peter’s life as the only son of Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell. For more information about the film, as well as to view the trailer, go to www.alitttleprince.net.

Another blockbuster year of Dave White Presents. The first program of 2012 features Kim Simmonds of the band Savoy Brown discussing the bands years past and the year ahead. Author Steven Stoliar provides details of the years he spent in the house of Groucho Marx from his book Raised Eyebrows. Then North American Jules Verne Preservation Society president Brian Taves talks about the creative history of Mr. Verne and his works. All of this previews on KSAV radio www.ksav.org Tuesday January 3 at both 7:30PM Eastern and Pacific times. It becomes available 24/7 beginning Wednesday January 4 at www.audioentertainment.org/dwp

Stephen Battaglio, business editor of TV Guide, will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, Friday at 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org.

January 14, 2012 marks the 60th anniversary of the premiere of The Today Show, the NBC morning show that not only ushered in a new era of broadcasting, but literally changed the way millions of Americans started their day by providing a window into the world of news, information and entertainment… all before 9:00am. In the course of its 60-year history, The Today Show reflected the changing attitudes of American society, set the pace for the evolution of TV news coverage and introduced viewers to some of the best communicators in broadcasting history.

We’ll look back at the history of The Today Show when Stephen Battaglio joins us in our second hour. Stephen’s latest book, From Yesterday to Today: Six Decades of America’s Favorite Morning Show, not only shows why The Today Show remains as vibrant today as it was when it first premiered, but also provides intimate portraits of many of the people who came into prominence because of Today, including Dave Garroway, Hugh Downs, Jane Pauley, Bryant Gumbel, Katie Couric and Barbara Walters.

Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen will join us in our first hour for an expanded edition of This Week in TV History that will include a look at the 40th anniversary of the death of Pete Duel, as well as the impact that had on the production of the popular Western series Alias Smith and Jones. It’ll be a full program as always… we certainly hope you’ll join us.